Noah Syndergaard retired his first 18 batters in the rookie’s latest overpowering performance, while the New York Mets got two-run homers from Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson to beat the San Diego Padres 4-0 Tuesday night.
Firing his fastball up to 158kph, Syndergaard (5-5) struck out nine, walked none and allowed only three singles in eight innings. The big right-hander outpitched James Shields and avenged a 7-2 loss at San Diego on June 2.
Making his 14th major league start, Syndergaard lost his bid for a perfect game when Will Venable lined a clean single up the middle on the first pitch of the seventh, prompting a warm ovation from the Citi Field crowd of 26,034.
Yangervis Solarte followed with an infield single and Venable went to third on an error by shortstop Ruben Tejada, who made a sliding stop, but a wild flip that rolled away from second baseman Daniel Murphy.
That is when Syndergaard buckled down to preserve a 2-0 lead. He retired No. 3 hitter Matt Kemp on a popup and got cleanup man Justin Upton to ground into an inning-ending double play.
ROYALS 2, INDIANS 1
In Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Hosmer’s homer with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Kansas City to a victory over Cleveland, who have lost eight straight at home — their longest home losing streak in 40 years.
Hosmer hit a 3-2 pitch from Trevor Bauer (8-8) over the wall in right for his 11th homer. The shot came one pitch after Indians catcher Roberto Perez threw out Lorenzo Cain trying to steal second. When his homer cleared the wall, Hosmer pointed toward Kansas City’s dugout, which was celebrating wildly.
Wade Davis (7-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth — getting a nifty groundout, and a game-ending double play — for his 22nd save.
PHILLIES 3, BLUE JAYS 2
In Toronto, Philadelphia won their first game after trading All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon to Washington, beating Toronto for their ninth victory in 10 games since the All-Star break.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Marlins 4, Nationals 1
‧ Orioles 7, Braves 3
‧ White Sox 9, Red Sox 4
‧ Astros 10, Angels 5
‧ Athletics 2, Dodgers 0
‧ Reds 4, Cardinals 0
‧ Brewers 5, Giants 2
‧ Yankees 21, Rangers 5
‧ Diamondbacks 8, Mariners 4
‧ Pirates 8, Twins 7
‧ Rockies 7, Cubs 2
‧ Rays 10, Tigers 2
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at